Samsung Galaxy Note 10

[bubulol]

Hello, people around me bought Note 10+ and i found it quite pretty, perhaps most elegant phone i have ever manipulated
Display looks so good, but i am afraid about switching iOS to Android since i prefer iOS eco-system overall (i have an iPad+Airpods besides my own iPhone)
Do you think it worth switching to Note 10?
Pros and cons please
Thanks you

 

[Zito Abroad]

10% off retail (with 12 months interest free credit if you want) and free Galaxy Buds in the UK has certainly got me interested if I don't go for the Pixel.

That's a good deal. Unless we have another "free buds" promo, I'm waiting till Christmas to buy a third Note 10+. I wanna get one strictly to use for traveling. I don't like how border services can go through your phone at their leisure. My travel phone will have no private documents, messages, or pictures for them to go through. I know a good number of people in various enforcement agencies, and they tell me all the shady practices that go on a regular basis. Bottom line, let's just say, I'm no longer surprised at how unethical these "law enforcement" agents are. Makes me sick.

 

[michael9891]

That's a good deal. Unless we have another "free buds" promo, I'm waiting till Christmas to buy a third Note 10+. I wanna get one strictly to use for traveling. I don't like how border services can go through your phone at their leisure. My travel phone will have no private documents, messages, or pictures for them to go through. I know a good number of people in various enforcement agencies, and they tell me all the shady practices that go on a regular basis. Bottom line, let's just say, I'm no longer surprised at how unethical these "law enforcement" agents are. Makes me sick.

Bottom line, nobody can force me to unlock my phone. No way I'm wasting money on a travel phone.

 

[SDColorado]

That's a good deal. Unless we have another "free buds" promo, I'm waiting till Christmas to buy a third Note 10+. I wanna get one strictly to use for traveling. I don't like how border services can go through your phone at their leisure. My travel phone will have no private documents, messages, or pictures for them to go through. I know a good number of people in various enforcement agencies, and they tell me all the shady practices that go on a regular basis. Bottom line, let's just say, I'm no longer surprised at how unethical these "law enforcement" agents are. Makes me sick.

Couldn’t you store documents, pictures, and other privacy sensitive info on the SD card, encrypt it and leave it at home and in a safe place when traveling?

 

[N0ddie]

Do you think it worth switching to Note 10?
Pros and cons please
Thanks you

It depends which Apple services you use. I don't know anybody that uses iMessage (we all use WhatsApp) but it's something to consider.

I chop and change from IOS to Android every couple of years and the difference ain't that big. Your buds will work fine with the Note as any other Bluetooth headphone will (I've used my wife's Powerbeats Pro with my Note 10 with no issues).

Which iPhone do you currently have? I've just switched from an iPhone X to Note 10 and have no regrets. It (the standard Note 10) is the perfect size phone.

Don't be put off in regards to the "it's battery is too small" worries. I've been absolutely hammering the phone since I got it last Thursday and easily achieve 8-9 hours of screen on time (mostly been watching YouTube videos).

 

[Zito Abroad]

Couldn’t you store documents, pictures, and other privacy sensitive info on the SD card, encrypt it and leave it at home and in a safe place when traveling?

I prefer using secure folder. One of the best features on Samsung phones. I use my SD card for my pictures and videos. I don't like multipurpose techniques for anything. So I like the idea of a phone only used for travel. Originally, I was going to use my S7 Edge as my travel phone, but I've been spoiled with the Note 10+ camera. Then there's still the matter of all my messages and emails on the phone. Just too much to reshuffle. Mind you, haven't fully decided on getting a phone just for travel.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

Hello, people around me bought Note 10+ and i found it quite pretty, perhaps most elegant phone i have ever manipulated
Display looks so good, but i am afraid about switching iOS to Android since i prefer iOS eco-system overall (i have an iPad+Airpods besides my own iPhone)
Do you think it worth switching to Note 10?
Pros and cons please
Thanks you

I bought one on friday and returned my iPhone 11 Pro.

Here's the thing. Yeah, it's a beautiful phone. It's full of features and customization that blows iPhone out of the water. But I only lasted a day on it. I was completely open and willing to compromise on things but there were just so many compromises.

1. Messaging is compromised. On iMessage, I can have a nice, fluid experience that’s the same with everyone I talk to. I'm USA based and don't know people who really use other messaging apps like they do other places. The few people I know who have android devices I use FB messenger or whatsapp. Without iMessage, I become the reason that entire group chats lose iMessage support and become basic MMS conversations.

2. Smarthome is compromised. Samsung SmartThings requires a hub for all my stuff to work. I don't really want to buy something else. Google home was the best alternative I could found to HomeKit since it lets you organize by room and works with almost everything. BUT Google Assistant requires you to enable web activity tracking to do anything with it. The interface sucks compared to Apple Home. Alexa can’t organize my devices by room like I want it.

3. Bixby Sucks. It's like using Siri on the iPhone 4S. Slow, misunderstands a lot. And if you're gonna be getting a smart watch too, Bixby sucks on that too.

4. Ads. There. are. Ads. -- yep. The first party software has ads in it. On a $1099 phone.

5. Apple Music and iCloud photos -- without migrating them all over, the experience is compromised. Apple Music for Android is a great app but it doesn’t work with any of the Android assistants and I use siri for that in my car EVERY day.


I felt like the whole experience was like creating Frankenstein's monster out of software to create the comprehensive experience Apple has in their ecosystem. Maybe that works for some people. Pulling off the shelf parts to get the experience you're looking for sounds good. In reality, it felt like a mess after I got past the cool features and gimmicks that first drew me in.

I'm back to my XS Max now and i'm probably just gonna hold onto it for the year since the 11 Pro didn't blow my mind either.

 

[Zito Abroad]

I bought one on friday and returned my iPhone 11 Pro.

Here's the thing. Yeah, it's a beautiful phone. It's full of features and customization that blows iPhone out of the water. But I only lasted a day on it. I was completely open and willing to compromise on things but there were just so many compromises.

1. Messaging is compromised. On iMessage, I can have a nice, fluid experience that’s the same with everyone I talk to. I'm USA based and don't know people who really use other messaging apps like they do other places. The few people I know who have android devices I use FB messenger or whatsapp. Without iMessage, I become the reason that entire group chats lose iMessage support and become basic MMS conversations.

2. Smarthome is compromised. Samsung SmartThings requires a hub for all my stuff to work. I don't really want to buy something else. Google home was the best alternative I could found to HomeKit since it lets you organize by room and works with almost everything. BUT Google Assistant requires you to enable web activity tracking to do anything with it. The interface sucks compared to Apple Home. Alexa can’t organize my devices by room like I want it.

3. Bixby Sucks. It's like using Siri on the iPhone 4S. Slow, misunderstands a lot. And if you're gonna be getting a smart watch too, Bixby sucks on that too.

4. Ads. There. are. Ads. -- yep. The first party software has ads in it. On a $1099 phone.

5. Apple Music and iCloud photos -- without migrating them all over, the experience is compromised. Apple Music for Android is a great app but it doesn’t work with any of the Android assistants and I use siri for that in my car EVERY day.


I felt like the whole experience was like creating Frankenstein's monster out of software to create the comprehensive experience Apple has in their ecosystem. Maybe that works for some people. Pulling off the shelf parts to get the experience you're looking for sounds good. In reality, it felt like a mess after I got past the cool features and gimmicks that first drew me in.

I'm back to my XS Max now and i'm probably just gonna hold onto it for the year since the 11 Pro didn't blow my mind either.

To be honest, doesn't sound like you were ready to make any real compromises. You put all your eggs in one basket, and everything you listed would have been known in advance. So, did you expect a different outcome? Don't bother ever leaving Apple if that list is your idea of too big of a compromise. Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with staying with Apple. Not everyone is open to real change. And again, that's totally OK. BTW, I don't have ads on my Samsung apps, if that's what you meant by 1st party apps. Which app were you getting ads?

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

To be honest, doesn't sound like you were ready to make any real compromises. You put all your eggs in one basket, and everything you listed would have been known in advance. So, did you expect a different outcome? Don't bother ever leaving Apple if that list is your idea of too big of a compromise. Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with staying with Apple. Not everyone is open to real change. And again, that's totally OK. BTW, I don't have ads on my Samsung apps, if that's what you meant by 1st party apps. Which app were you getting ads?

Yeah, i thought i could do it but it's just not for me. I gave my perspective as an Apple user in case the person I was responding to is in a similar position.

There are ads on Bixby Home, Samsung Pay, and the Galaxy Store (i had to watch a video to even install a watch face)

 

[Zito Abroad]

Yeah, i thought i could do it but it's just not for me. I gave my perspective as an Apple user in case the person I was responding to is in a similar position.

There are ads on Bixby Home, Samsung Pay, and the Galaxy Store (i had to watch a video to even install a watch face)

That's very odd, I have zero ads on both my phones. I'm thinking you may have had "marketing information" setting on. I know it's an option to turn on/off when setting up the phone, but it's also an option within each one the apps you mentioned.

 

[SDColorado]

That's very odd, I have zero ads on both my phones. I'm thinking you may have had "marketing information" setting on. I know it's an option to turn on/off when setting up the phone, but it's also an option within each one the apps you mentioned.

I have no issues with ads either and found Textra works for the texting that I do. I haven't missed iMessage yet

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

That's very odd, I have zero ads on both my phones. I'm thinking you may have had "marketing information" setting on. I know it's an option to turn on/off when setting up the phone, but it's also an option within each one the apps you mentioned.

regardless of whether or not I missed one of the infinite settings on the phone, they were obviously on by default and that’s still a heap of BS on a thousand dollar phone.

 

[N0ddie]

Before spunking a grand on a phone I'd be doing some research first.

Why do people use iMessage so much in the US? It locks you into being pals with iPhone only users. Everyone I know with an iPhone uses WhatsApp and never considered iMessage.

 

[Zito Abroad]

regardless of whether or not I missed one of the infinite settings on the phone, they were obviously on by default and that’s still a heap of BS on a thousand dollar phone.

Not really, every phone has a set up process. New iPhone users have to adjust to iOS default settings. It's not a reason get overly frustrated, and return the phone, after one day. Especially for a tech enthusiast. For us, it's just the usual song and dance of adjusting to a completely new device and OS. When you have an issue in iOS, do you look for a solution, or do you toss the phone? Kinda ridiculous if someone would do that. Buying a $1K+ phone, and it being one of the most feature packed devices on the market, then return it within a day, because of too many settings, ummm, well....But hey, one person's "infinite settings," is another person's "getting their money's worth," of features.
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Before spunking a grand on a phone I'd be doing some research first.

Why do people use iMessage so much in the US? It locks you into being pals with iPhone only users. Everyone I know with an iPhone uses WhatsApp and never considered iMessage.

I never understood this either. Can't imagine having others' messaging app of choice, dictate which phone I use. It's a very submissive culty mentality.

 

[nrvna76]

Not really, every phone has a set up process. New iPhone users have to adjust to iOS default settings. It's not a reason get overly frustrated, and return the phone, after one day. Especially for a tech enthusiast. For us, it's just the usual song and dance of adjusting to a completely new device and OS. When you have an issue in iOS, do you look for a solution, or do you toss the phone? Kinda ridiculous if someone would do that. Buying a $1K+ phone, and it being one of the most feature packed devices on the market, then return it within a day, because of too many settings, ummm, well....But hey, one person's "infinite settings," is another person's "getting their money's worth," of features.
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I never understood this either. Can't imagine having others' messaging app of choice, dictate which phone I use. It's a very submissive culty mentality.

He tried it and it wasn’t for him.. why call it ridiculous..? He’s taken a step further than me as I’ve never even taken the plunge.

And a lot of people like iMessage. Again, it’s their choice isn’t it? I’m glad we have the choices we do.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

Not really, every phone has a set up process. New iPhone users have to adjust to iOS default settings. It's not a reason get overly frustrated, and return the phone, after one day. Especially for a tech enthusiast. For us, it's just the usual song and dance of adjusting to a completely new device and OS. When you have an issue in iOS, do you look for a solution, or do you toss the phone? Kinda ridiculous if someone would do that. Buying a $1K+ phone, and it being one of the most feature packed devices on the market, then return it within a day, because of too many settings, ummm, well....But hey, one person's "infinite settings," is another person's "getting their money's worth," of features.
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I never understood this either. Can't imagine having others' messaging app of choice, dictate which phone I use. It's a very submissive culty mentality.

i’m not sure how you got that I returned it because of too many settings. I said the ads are on by default on a $1000 phone. if you don’t think that’s ludicrous then by all means, enjoy. there were 5 other reasons I wrote about why it wasn’t for me, and I have more annoyances I didn’t mention. they didn’t outweigh the design of the phone being more aesthetic than the iphone for me so I returned it.

He tried it and it wasn’t for him.. why call it ridiculous..? He’s taken a step further than me as I’ve never even taken the plunge.

And a lot of people like iMessage. Again, it’s their choice isn’t it? I’m glad we have the choices we do.

i’ve used ios for 12 years. literally since iPhone OS 1.1.2. and it’s been all i’ve ever used. I decided I was bored and wanted to try something else. i’m just glad I quickly realize it wasn’t going to work for me. if I gave it more time and switched over all my stuff to google or another service I could’ve made it work. I just knew I didn’t want to fully commit on something I was just trying out. i’m glad I did it and honestly I REALLY like the note 10. but the cool gimmicks didn’t outweigh the inconveniences for my use case. some of those inconveniences are Apple’s fault. but kudos to them for that because it actually just demonstrated how well the “walled garden” really works. sure. with apple there’s not a variety of ways to do things. you have their way and that’s it. but their way works for me and I appreciate it more now.

 

[Klyster]

regardless of whether or not I missed one of the infinite settings on the phone, they were obviously on by default and that’s still a heap of BS on a thousand dollar phone.

I haven't had any adverts but I turned that option off just now.
Thanks for that

 

[michael9891]

1 day? 1 single day? That's not giving it a go. So much more to discover.

 

[mi7chy]

Sounds like he's referring to a store demo especially with the ads. Wouldn't make any sense to go through the trouble of buying then returning after one day. Most would stretch out the 14 day trial/return policy.

 

[Zito Abroad]

He tried it and it wasn’t for him..

We can agree to disagree. Spending 12 years on one OS, then moving over to The Most complex Android device for less than a day, is not what I consider "trying it." But again, as you say, it's his choice. Nobody can judge his choice in the end, but we can judge the manner in which it was done.

 

[koigirl]

I go back and forth between iOS and Samsung devices and the setup/adjustment is never complete in one day. In fact, I would argue you have to give it a good 2 weeks at a minimum, especially if you're trying out a new OS for the first time. And yes, you do lots of tweaking of the settings on an Android device to get it just the way you want it. But then again, one huge benefit of Android is the customization where you are allowed to choose for yourself your own default apps. Whereas I am really tired of the restrictions Apple places on my iOS experience simply to reinforce their walled garden. If Apple offered universal iMessage, even for a monthly fee, I would probably use it. But Textra and WhatsApp work plenty well, at least for me. I like some aspects of iOS and different aspects of Android/One UI. To each his own but you won't get a true idea of the experience of either using it for only one day.

 

[SteveJUAE]

1 day? 1 single day? That's not giving it a go. So much more to discover.

I dunno that's about 23 hours longer than I can look at an Iphone stale home screen

 

[bubulol]

I think, in the best worlds, Apple should pick Microsoft's strategy:
Bringing out all their ''services'' such iMessage, iCloud, Plans, Apple Arcade, Apple Music etc... on Android
Apple products sales will never increase anymore, stagnating at best...
Their eco-system is locking up into itself, that's not good at all
Apple's strengths are somewhere else than selling hardware and using their services: its about eco-system integration
Even if they brought their services on Android, it doesn't mean people will switch and abandon Apple hardware
That means more consumers will use their services and even better: it could attract newer potential consumers in their products
I would love to have their services on Note 10 for example
No Google for me, i dont really taste their privacy stuff (even though i use Gmail, Maps, Waze and Chrome lol)

 

[SDColorado]

Sounds like he's referring to a store demo especially with the ads. Wouldn't make any sense to go through the trouble of buying then returning after one day. Most would stretch out the 14 day trial/return policy.

I was wondering if the advertisements were carrier specific. I have not experienced ads like that myself on my onlocked model.

That said, the Marketing Information setting is under Privacy and should be one of the first areas anyone explores on a new device. I can no longer recall if it was on or off by default, but either way I don't recall getting ads, so it would seem there is more to it than that setting.

 

[co.ag.2005]

I was wondering if the advertisements were carrier specific. I have not experienced ads like that myself on my onlocked model.

That said, the Marketing Information setting is under Privacy and should be one of the first areas anyone explores on a new device. I can no longer recall if it was on or off by default, but either way I don't recall getting ads, so it would seem there is more to it than that setting.

I remember on my Note 10 (unlocked USA version), I'd get an ad for a game here and there when going into the Galaxy store (app store). It wasn't all the time but was annoying. I didn't know there was a setting for it in the store settings, definitely good to know.